Ehira
Ehira was a Japanese camera maker before and after World War II, founded by Ehira Nobujirō (江平信次郎) and based in Yao, in the suburbs of Osaka. The address in 1943 was Ōsaka-fu Nakakawachi-gun Yao-chō Kozakai 148 (大阪府中河内郡八尾町小阪合148) and in 1949 it was Ōsaka-fu Yao-shi Kozakai 148 (大阪府八尾市小阪合一四八), the same address in the new administrative system. Source: and advertisement dated November 1949 reproduced in , p.121. (Most Japanese camera companies were in Tokyo, with the notable exception of Molta, then Chiyoda Kōgaku, predecessor of Minolta, in Osaka.) History Before founding his own company, Ehira Nobujirō worked for Molta. There he drew plans for a metal focal plane shutter, patented by the firm in November 1932. Nakagawa, p.120. The patent number is S8-3457. It is said that he was also largely responsible of the innovative design of the Minolta Vest, a collapsible camera made of bakelite. Tanimura, p.32. Ehira Nobujirō founded Ehira Kōki (江平光機) in 1936. Date: Tanimura, p.33. The first product of the company was an accessory rangefinder, distributed by Yamamoto Shashinki-ten under its own Weha brand. Weha rangefinder made by Ehira: Tanimura, p.33. The earlier Weha products, such as the Weha plate folders, were not made by Ehira. , p.255, mistakenly attributes the Weha Light plate folder to Ehira. The first camera made by Ehira was the Weha Chrome Six, notable for its coupled rangefinder device, inspired by the Super Ikonta and other Zeiss Ikon cameras. The earliest examples were perhaps made in Yamamoto's own workshop. An October 1937 advertisement reproduced in , p.59, mentions Yamamoto as the maker and distributor (製造発売元) of the Weha Chrome Six. Tanimura, p.33, however says that the Ehira plant was set up in 1936 and that the Ehira company produced the Weha Chrome Six from the start. Ehira also made the Weha Six 6×6 folder and the Auto Rapid Ehira and Kōki TTSH shutters mounted on the two camera models. The last examples of the Weha Chrome Six have no mention of Weha and are called Ehira Chrome Six. The full name of the company in the early period is not certain; in 1943 it was called Ehira Kōgaku Kikai Kōjō (江平光学精機工場, meaning Ehira Optics and Precision Plant). Full name in 1943: . The logo was Ehira K.S.K inside a doublet lens scheme. During the war, Ehira worked as a subcontractor of Chiyoda Kōgaku on the Type 100 small aerial camera and on a film feeding device for a gun camera. The company survived the war: in January 1946, Ehira was one of the 17 founding members of the Kōgaku Seiki Kōgyō Kyōkai (光学精機工業協会, Optical and Precision Instruments Manufacturers' Association). Lewis, p.60; Tanimura, p.36. It produced a small number of Weha Chrome Six and Ehira Chrome Six from the remaining stocks of parts. In 1949, the company released the Ehira Six and Astoria Super Six coupled-rangefinder 6×6 folders, more directly copied from the Super Ikonta. At the time, its full name as appears in the advertisements was Ehira Kōki Seisakusho (江平光機製作所, meaning Ehira Optical Works). Advertisement reproduced in , p.121. The production of the 6×6 folders was stopped around 1956, Date: Tanimura, p.38 of no.51. and Ehira began to develop the Eltina 35mm camera, using a periscope system akin to that of the Periflex. The special focal-plane shutter of the Eltina caused much trouble, and the camera remained at an experimental level. Known examples have "Eltina Opt. Co. Ltd." engraved on the top housing, perhaps a new name for the Ehira company. Ehira also worked on a 35mm pentaprism SLR, perhaps called Eltinaflex, which remained unfinished. Tanimura, p.39 of no.51. Ehira Nobujirō retired around 1959 and died in 1961, at the age of 69. Retired around 1959: Tanimura, p.39 of no.51. Ehira Nobujirō's grandson (User:Ehira_Grandson) confirms that he was born in 1891 and died on January 12, 1961, at the age of 69, from the testimony of Nobujirō's daughter. Tanimura's article wrongly says that Nobujirō was born in 1910 and died in 1962 at the age of 71. Camera list http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/470008033_6e73227902_t_d.jpg * Weha Six I and II * Weha Chrome Six I, II, III * Weha Chrome Six III New and Ehira Chrome Six * Enon Six * Ehira Six IIIA and Astoria Super Six IIIB Other * Weha accessory rangefinder, chrome, long base, available in metres or in feet (sold ¥15 in 1936) Metres or feet: Tanimura, p.33. Price: advertisement published in Sunday Mainichi (December 13, 1936), reproduced in the Gochamaze website. Notes Bibliography * * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Weha Chrome Six" (ウエハークロームシックス). In no.42 (December 1980, the cover wrongly has "no.41"). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. * * * P.255. * Nakagawa Chū (中川忠). "Metaru fōkaru purēn shattā no hensen (dai-ikkai)" (メタルフォーカルプレーンシャッターの変遷第１回, Evolution of the metal focal-plane shutter 1). Pp.118–22. * Tanimura Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Ehira Nobujirō no kamera: Ehira Kōki, Uehā kara Eruchina made" (江平信次郎のカメラ・江平光機、ウエハーからエルチナまで, The cameras of Ehira Nobujirō, from the Weha to the Eltina). Pp.32–9. Links In Japanese: * Advertisement showing the Weha rangefinder, published in the December 13, 1936 issue of Sunday Mainichi, reproduced in the camera company page of the Gochamaze website Category: Japanese camera makers *